AROUND THE WORLD

Blast targets investigator in Hariri killing

September 06, 2006|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

BEIRUT, LEBANON — A leading investigator into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri narrowly escaped a remote-control bomb attack that targeted his convoy and killed four of his aides and bodyguards Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Samir Shehade, deputy head of intelligence in the national police force, had spent months tracking the bombers who killed Hariri in early 2005, sparking an outburst of political pressure that forced Syria to end its longtime de facto occupation of Lebanon.

Shehade was hospitalized with light wounds after Tuesday's blast, which targeted his convoy in the southern town of Rmaile.